


Always

by Tshilaba



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Gen, Slightly HIstorical Fiction, Slow Burn, That vampire AU no one asked for but was totally needed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-08
Updated: 2016-10-08
Packaged: 2018-08-17 07:30:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8135555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tshilaba/pseuds/Tshilaba
Summary: Some souls are bound forever and always, no matter what age they are born in.





	

For years, humans have populated the world. They have overpowered prey and defended their land and young from predators. However, there is one predator that they could not overpower. For how can one overpower something that at once is so very like them and so very different.

The vampires have existed for as long as humans have. In fact, many advances that humans made have been thanks to the vampires they live alongside. If not for their vampiric neighbors, humans may have taken much longer to discover how to hunt prey. Once left alone, they seemed to forget the ability quite quickly.

_Circa 100 AD The Kingdom of Valla, the ruling vampire family of the Mediterranean, Crete_

The soft sound of bare feet padding across stone was the only sound that filled the chamber, its occupants sitting in silence as the raven haired woman nursed her child. Her sister paced back and forth, lost in thought, and her young niece, not much older than her own daughter, lay curled up next to her, her pale blue hair falling down into her yellow eyes as she watched her cousin nurse.

The infant was a strange one. Even if her mother had deep raven hair, very unlike most of the Vallite blood line, the tiny child had pale blonde hair that looked like crystal in the light of the sun, and her eyes looked like two drops of blood shimmering bright.

"We need to get out of here, Mikoto."

At the sound of her sister's voice, Mikoto's eyes finally left her daughter and she looked up. "You don't think I know that, Arete?" she said quietly. "Anankos has not been himself for quite some time. Probably since Azura was born. But where would we go?"

"Perhaps the other kings will grant us sanctuary. Nohr is not far from here. You could travel the distance. If we can make it within Nohrian borders--"

Mikoto shook her head, cutting her sister off. "That's too close. You and Azura may find sanctuary there, but..."

"You can say your daughter is more valuable a life than my own," Arete said, but there was no malice in her voice. They both knew that even amongst their kind, such a peculiar appearance would make the child as easy to find as a Titan. "Then seek out the Hoshidan king."

"But Sister--"

"You know as well as I do that Sumeragi is known for his generosity."

"Then come with us," Mikoto said earnestly, but Arete shook her head.

"Azura wouldn't make the trip."

* * *

If Mikoto had known that would have been the last time she saw her sister, she may have pressed harder for them to come to Hoshido. But the past couldn't be changed.

Sumeragi granted her sanctuary the moment she explained her case. Even his wife, Ikona, welcomed her and her child with open arms.

The people of the land were a much different story. Sumeragi and Ikona's young son, Ryoma, was the first to make the effort to be friends with her; his younger sister, Hinoka, was about a year older than her own child, and she immediately took to her. Her most beloved pass time was to get Corrin to smile and giggle.

After a few years, Ikona gave birth to a son, whom they named Takumi, and a small time later she became pregnant with their fourth child.

If Mikoto had taken refuge with humans, she may have been accused of bringing misfortune upon them. But even as Ikona fell ill and grew weaker by the day, Mikoto was the first source of comfort and care for both of the royals. She was a confidant and companion to both of them, and her skill in healing, both mundane and magickal, garnered her the honor of being Ikona's personal nurse. She was both honored and mortified. All her skill, and she couldn't do anything for her queen. When the infant was born, a beautiful little girl they named Sakura, it became clear there was no hope. Ikona passed before the fall.

Sumeragi was in mourning, the whole country was. But the country needed a queen, and, most importantly, there were four young children in need of a mother.

It was quite a surprise, though, when he asked her one afternoon if he could speak to her over tea. The children were playing in the courtyard, and they always kept an eye on Corrin so she didn't get hurt in her recklessness, so she agreed.

"I have enjoyed every moment you and Corrin have been in the palace," he began once the servant had left the room. "And I have thought of you as part of the royal family."

"But you need to find another wife," she said, casting her eyes down to stare into the cup. "I would just be in the way."

"On the contrary," Sumeragi said. "If things go the way I pray they will, then all will be fine. You see, Mikoto, I can think of no better woman to be my wife than the one I'm speaking to now."

She couldn't help the surprised gasp that escaped her lips as she looked up at him in confusion. "Me?"

"Who else? My children love you. And I can think of no one else Ikona would have wanted to care for them."

"I failed her..." she said quietly, looking down again.

"You tried your best, Mikoto. No one thinks any less."

She sighed, chewing on her bottom lip nervously. "Very well," she said finally. "I accept."

* * *

Though she was small for her age, Corrin seemed to have no problem gathering the affection and loyalty of the kingdom's children, even outside the royal family. And she never once suspected she wasn't Sumeragi's blood.

She loved spending time with him, when he could afford to, and would often mimic his generous leadership style in the gang's mock court games.

Mikoto suspected that wasn't the only reason the city's children preferred to follow her daughter's lead though.

One day, just after Hinoka's seventh birthday, Sumeragi was to meet Garon, the Nohrian king, for a peace treaty to delegate how far Garon's people could expand to the east, at the cost of land in what had been a neutral zone between the two kingdoms. Corrin begged to go with her father, and, finally, her mother relented. There would be a guard, after all, she reasoned. And it wouldn't hurt for Corrin to get some experience seeing an actual meeting between the two kings.

She could never have prepared herself for the knowledge that the messenger brought to her.

They had been ambushed, and Sumeragi had died, protecting Corrin with his own life. But Garon had taken her as well. By the time anything could be done, it was far too late. Garon had disappeared back into the Nohrian lands, the young Corrin taken with him. 


End file.
